Our pre-schooler loves dinosaurs – brontosauruses in particular – and has worn out every entry in the “Land Before Time” saga (including its short-lived series) over the last year or so. You would imagine he’d be a perfect audience for BABY: SECRET OF THE LOST LEGEND (***, 95 mins., 1985, PG), yet I’m going to hold off on a viewing of this early Touchstone release with him until he’s ready for some oddly placed violence which makes an otherwise entertaining African-set adventure unsuitable for what should’ve been its main demographic.

By equal measure a mix of “Serpico,” “Law & Order” episode and B-grade actioner, the very entertainingSHAKEDOWN (***, 96 mins. 1988, R)makes its Blu-Ray debut this month from Shout! Factory. A well-reviewed Shapiro/Glickenhaus Entertainment production that met with modest box-office after being picked up by Universal for theatrical release, “Shakedown” stars Peter Weller as a burned out NYC defense attorney assigned to represent a drug dealer (future “Law & Order” prosecutor Richard Brooks) who guns down a “Blue Jean” (undercover) cop he claims was in self-defense.

The modern preoccupation with belated film sequels and remakes has trickled down to even “Blade Runner,” Ridley Scott’s seminal sci-fi classic that drew neither widespread critical kudos or commercial acceptance when it was first released in 1982. A cult favorite that’s obviously been more warmly embraced as the years have passed, Scott is onboard as a producer of BLADE RUNNER 2049 (***, 163 mins., R; Warner), an ambitious follow-up from one of its predecessor’s original writers and director Denis Villeneuve, architect of glacially paced works like “Sicario” and “Arrival.”

Shout! Factory kicks off the new year with a most welcome Special Collector’s Edition of Joe Dante’sMATINEE (***½ , 99 mins., PG), a charming character piece starring John Goodman as Lawrence Woolsey, a William Castle-esque B-movie producer heading down to the Florida Keys right as the Cuban Missile Crisis is about to play out. His efforts to sell his newest epic – the B&W chiller “Mant!” – are contrasted with the lives of local teenagers, including an army brat (Simon Fenton) whose little brother is as excited about watching Woolsey’s new flick as he is terrified by its subject matter of a “half-man, half ant!” creature running amok.

Considering that directors are being thrown into Hyperspace left and right, one wonders what’s cooking over at Disney when Kathleen Kennedy and her fellow executives decided to leave Rian Johnson to his own devices with STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI (**). “Episode VIII” in the “official” saga is a poorly conceived, overwritten slog of a sequel that shows flashes of inspiration along with several embarrassing moments and one particular plot thread that should’ve been jettisoned altogether.

Christopher Nolan’s new film DUNKIRK (**½, 107 mins., PG-13; Warner)is likely to divide viewers into two camps: those who feel the picture is a brilliant piece of cinema, and everybody else. Despite the mostly positive reviews, I regrettably found myself in the latter camp as this clinical “immersive viewing experience” played itself out.

It’s entirely likely that either you or a movie buff you know is ready to make the leap into the world of 4K this holiday season. Having spent the last year extensively researching the format and eventually jumping onboard (mostly because of the 4K UHD discs I’ve received for review), I have a few suggestions to keep in mind as visions of Ultra High Definition images dance around in your heads.

There aren’t a lot of film music concerts available in high definition, something that makes Eagle Rock’s new edition of HANS ZIMMER: LIVE IN PRAGUE the kind of title that’s well worth savoring. Though I’ve never been the biggest fan of Zimmer’s scores, especially over the last 15 years or thereabouts, this concert performance offers a generous helping of the composer’s film music output in a program that should delight fans.

There aren’t a lot of film music concerts available in high definition, something that makes Eagle Rock’s new edition of HANS ZIMMER: LIVE IN PRAGUE the kind of title that’s well worth savoring. Though I’ve never been the biggest fan of Zimmer’s scores, especially over the last 15 years or thereabouts, this concert performance offers a generous helping of the composer’s film music output in a program that should delight fans.

Kicking off Kino Lorber’s October releases, THE FLAMINGO KID (***½, 100 mins., 1984, PG-13) is a winning slice-of-life comedy from “Happy Days” creator Gary Marshall, starring Matt Dillon as a Brooklyn kid who gets a job as a cabana boy at a posh Long Island beach club during the summer of ’63. Richard Crenna plays a car dealer and local card shark who tutors Dillon in the game and life itself, much to the consternation of Dillon’s blue-collar dad Hector Elizondo, who is troubled by his son’s fascination with people from a “higher class.”